Technical elements of successful laparoscopic cholangiography as defined by radiographic criteria

C. L. Willekes, J. K. Edoga, J. J. Castronuovo Jr, W. D. Widmann, E. R. McLean Jr and A. H. Chevinsky
Department of Surgery, Morristown Memorial Hospital, NJ, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To define the elements of successful laparoscopic cholangiography. DESIGN: Retrospective review of 130 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic cholangiography. SETTING: Community hospital with a surgical residency. PATIENTS: Thirty-four males and 96 females, aged 16 to 86 years, with acute and chronic cholecystitis. INTERVENTION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy during intraoperative cholangiography. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A cholangiogram that satisfactorily delineates biliary anatomy as defined by accepted radiologic criteria. RESULTS: A successful laparoscopic cholangiogram was obtained in 98.5% of the study group. CONCLUSION: A safe and reliable technique to obtain a laparoscopic cholangiogram is described and validated using accepted radiologic criteria.